Ireland / France: Art, Literature, Wine

In May 2022, Sotheby's holds a unique sale of Irish art, literature and wine in Paris. This special sale coincides with the centenary of the 1922 World Congress of the Irish Race - a significant event in modern Irish history in which the newly founded Irish state took part in a week-long international conference in Paris.

In attendance were Irish politicians, diaspora delegates, writers, artists and musicians. The aim was to promote an independent Ireland on the world stage and to showcase the country's artistic and cultural uniqueness. For the occasion, a major exhibition of Irish art of three hundred works was organized for a whole month at the Galeries Barbazanges. One hundred years later, this sale will present works of art by the greatest Irish artists, from the 19th century to the present day.

2022 is also the centenary anniversary of James Joyce's literary masterpiece, Ulysses, which was published in Paris in 1922. The sale will feature a selection of lots from leading Irish writers from Joyce to W. B. Yeats and Samuel Beckett.